ORLANDO, Fla. – In a trade that was officially announced Thursday, the Boston Celtics acquired three pieces for maybe nothing. Naturally, head coach Brad Stevens liked the move.

“Well obviously, I thought it was a good deal for us,” he said Thursday before a 76-67 summer league win against the Orlando Magic. “We got two guys (Marcus Thornton and Tyler Zeller) that I think are good players. You get a (protected 2016 first-round) pick out of the trade, and you use your trade exception to do that.

“I don’t necessarily understand all the numbers and all that stuff, and how the exceptions work, but obviously you get a proven scorer – a guy that’s scored a lot of points in a short amount of time in this league – in Marcus Thornton. And you get a guy in Tyler Zeller that is a big, strong center that can also stretch the defense with his skill and really run the floor. I thought it was all positive from our standpoint.”

With the Cleveland Cavaliers looking to clear maximum salary space for a shot at free agent LeBron James, Boston took advantage absorbing Thornton’s bloated contract ($8.5 million) into its trade exception. Taking on Thornton’s deal wasn’t particularly harmful – it's an expiring contract and the Celtics never projected to have much salary space anyway – and it allowed the Celtics to get two more assets, Zeller and the pick, for a highly-protected future second-rounder that might never be conveyed.

President of basketball operations Danny Ainge said he looked into other, more enticing options with the trade exception, which would have expired Saturday. But nothing else materialized, and he settled for a still-helpful transaction to tack on a couple more assets.

“We’ve had other opportunities and we’ve had other ideas on how we would utilize our trade exception,” he said. “This wasn’t like No. 1 on the list. But getting a draft pick and a good young player will always be a good option. But there were other options out there as well that we contemplated, that we just weren’t able to do.”

Ainge added: “It’s a good deal for us, I think. Who knows what’s going to happen for Cleveland? It could end up being a great deal for them too. We all are waiting to see what’s going on with their cap space. I wish I was in their position.”

Asked whether he intends to keep both players, Ainge initially replied, "Sure." But after a brief pause he continued, "What does that mean? What am I supposed to say, like, 'No, I’m not keeping anybody around'?”

Not the strongest endorsement. But Zeller's a young center and Thornton can get hot. Below, a few quotes on the new additions.

On Zeller

Stevens: “First and foremost, I think he’s a great transition rim-runner. I think he can really get out and fly up and down the court, and I think that showed itself true a lot at North Carolina. And then I think he is a guy that can, with his skill, score on the block but also stretch the defense. He has enough handle and savvy to play facing the defense, and you can kind of play around him, not too dissimilar from some of our other big guys that we have now. He’s just big. He’s 7-foot, 250 pounds and takes really good care of himself, and he’s an invested pro.”

Stevens: “I think we’ve talked about how in an ideal world, Sullinger plays the four. And at the same time I think Tyler would be the first to tell you he’s not going to block shots like Mutombo or some of the great shot-blockers in the history of the game either. He’s more of a position defender. He’s a strong guy, he’s an agile guy, he can move his feet laterally. But he’s not necessarily a huge shot-blocker at the rim. Now, there’s different ways to affect drives. You can meet people outside the circle. You can jump straight up and still affect them with your strength and size, they can go into your body, as long as you’re vertical. But that will be more of what he has to do.”

Stevens: “Kind of a crazy time for him to get traded three days before he gets married and then go on his honeymoon. I just said hope you enjoy it. Tell your family hi and we’ll talk to you when you get back.”

Ainge: “I think that Tyler was a good get for us. We’re short on centers. We like the way he runs the court. He can make shots to complement our guard play. (Getting) a 7-footer who knows how to play was very good.”

Ainge: “I didn’t watch him much his rookie year. He can rebound, he can shoot and he can run. He’s 7-feet tall and I think he fits into how we want to play. Brad wants to have that center position be a runner, and get up the court, and run to the front of the rim. And he fits all the criteria. The competition will be tough for him to get on the court, but he is a good young talent and we’re excited to have him.”

On Thornton

Stevens: “Marcus can score. And I think any time you think about your team, and you think about what your needs are, putting the ball in the basket helps a lot. And I think Marcus will complement the guys we have back there well. But he also can run off screens both directions and shoot the basketball. He can get it off pick-and-rolls or handoffs and shoot the basketball. And he can create his own shot going full speed, which is hard to do. I’m really familiar with Marcus. Marcus knocked us out of the tournament in 2009, basically singlehandedly. He’s had a really solid career but with some really unbelievable moments already.”

Ainge: “Marcus can bring us some scoring. Probably a bench scorer. Can really get hot in stretches, had a 42-point game last year. He’s a guy that can shoot the ball from the 3-point line and add shooting and depth to our team.”